Advice on getting a cat accustomed to a new family member
Discussion
nap envy is scheduled to be delivered by the baby stork in October and mrs envy and I have been wondering how her cat will take to the new arrival.
The cat is about 12 years old and whilst he's very chilled out, he's never, ever scratched or bitten anyone including children who visit and chase him round the house (he tends to wander off when he gets molested by them) he's very much used to being the centre of her attention when we're on our own.
Yesterday, a friend of mrs envy visited with her 9 month old baby and you could tell that the cat became massively jealous, so much so he sat on the other side of the room and stared at the baby for the entire time. He was also very vocal and only calmed down once they'd gone.
I'm worried that the cat is going to get massively pissed off, and whilst it's not in his nature to be aggressive, you just can't tell or take chances. It's not my intention to rehome him so I'd like to ensure he copes and adjusts just as much as we'll need to when our lives change for ever.
Does anyone have any tips on what we can do to make this process a little easier for him?
The cat is about 12 years old and whilst he's very chilled out, he's never, ever scratched or bitten anyone including children who visit and chase him round the house (he tends to wander off when he gets molested by them) he's very much used to being the centre of her attention when we're on our own.
Yesterday, a friend of mrs envy visited with her 9 month old baby and you could tell that the cat became massively jealous, so much so he sat on the other side of the room and stared at the baby for the entire time. He was also very vocal and only calmed down once they'd gone.
I'm worried that the cat is going to get massively pissed off, and whilst it's not in his nature to be aggressive, you just can't tell or take chances. It's not my intention to rehome him so I'd like to ensure he copes and adjusts just as much as we'll need to when our lives change for ever.
Does anyone have any tips on what we can do to make this process a little easier for him?
Cats adapt very well.
I have 2 BSH's.
m0ssy Jnr is 14 months old now and we have never had a problem with the cats and my daughter.
I remember when I first brought my daughter back from the hospital the cats were both inside waiting to be fed. I placed the baby down in the car seat on the floor to let the cats have a sniff. I was expecting them to be intrigued, fascinated by the new arrival, perhaps work out that there was a new member of the household that had the same kind of scent as there dad... lots of thoughts. However they had a quick sniff, turned their backs and then went back to their bowls to wait to be fed. It was a real anti-climax.
Well the next few weeks the cats spent more time out then in, they didn't like the baby crying, which those with kids know they do this a fair bit in the first few months. Eventually they got used to her, they will allow my child to stroke them if I have hold of her as they know she is controlled at that point, if she was crawling or now walking towards them they normally make a break for it and head outside or sleep where they cant be seen.
The cats have slept in her room as we always leave her door open when she is in bed, but they have never got into her cot even when she is not in there.
I will be honest and say they go out more than they used to, but in a way they don't mind going out, they always come back each night and are always there waiting for me to feed them in the morning and when I arrive home in the evening.
I know you have mentioned you will not get rid of the cat due to the new arrival but I really cannot understand people who do. Cats and children can live together in perfect harmony. It drives me nuts when people sever ties with their cats due to a new arrival, all this s
t about hygiene, cats are going to scratch them, sleep on them when asleep, its a load of old pony.
I have 2 BSH's.
m0ssy Jnr is 14 months old now and we have never had a problem with the cats and my daughter.
I remember when I first brought my daughter back from the hospital the cats were both inside waiting to be fed. I placed the baby down in the car seat on the floor to let the cats have a sniff. I was expecting them to be intrigued, fascinated by the new arrival, perhaps work out that there was a new member of the household that had the same kind of scent as there dad... lots of thoughts. However they had a quick sniff, turned their backs and then went back to their bowls to wait to be fed. It was a real anti-climax.
Well the next few weeks the cats spent more time out then in, they didn't like the baby crying, which those with kids know they do this a fair bit in the first few months. Eventually they got used to her, they will allow my child to stroke them if I have hold of her as they know she is controlled at that point, if she was crawling or now walking towards them they normally make a break for it and head outside or sleep where they cant be seen.
The cats have slept in her room as we always leave her door open when she is in bed, but they have never got into her cot even when she is not in there.
I will be honest and say they go out more than they used to, but in a way they don't mind going out, they always come back each night and are always there waiting for me to feed them in the morning and when I arrive home in the evening.
I know you have mentioned you will not get rid of the cat due to the new arrival but I really cannot understand people who do. Cats and children can live together in perfect harmony. It drives me nuts when people sever ties with their cats due to a new arrival, all this s
t about hygiene, cats are going to scratch them, sleep on them when asleep, its a load of old pony.ehonda said:
You can get nets which fit over moses baskets and cots to stop cats getting in, if you're worried about that. Amazon stock them. When we had our first, one of our cats uses to like to try and get in the cot for the warmth.
yeah, mosquito nets are on the list. I think it's unlikely that he'll attack the baby but more try and snuggle up to it.ali_kat said:
Unfortunately I miscarried a couple of weeks before we lost Bast, so can't really contribute much more than - it will be expecting it.
sorry to hear thatmoff somehow knew even before we knew a baby was on the way, he wouldn't leave T alone and kept on sitting on her
sleep envy said:
sorry to hear that
moff somehow knew even before we knew a baby was on the way, he wouldn't leave T alone and kept on sitting on her
s'ok - was just going to edit to say don't comment on it please moff somehow knew even before we knew a baby was on the way, he wouldn't leave T alone and kept on sitting on her
they do, it all fell into place once we knew. They knew I'd lost it too, losing Bast so soon after took a lot of strength to cope
Bex? You've been thru this, can you help please?
Sorry long overdue reply!
I bought the sounds soothing CD (Amazon) to get our 3 cats and our dog used to the sound of a crying baby, all instructions of how to use it are in there as well as a good guide book.
I've lent mine to a few expectant families (via work) and they've all found it useful.
Remember to not ignore your cat but start limiting access to rooms. Ours always used to be allowed in the bedroom but months before our boys arrival we started shutting them downstairs (not once baby was born) so they were used to this set up before baby arrived.
I also used plug in Feliways 2 weeks before due date and gave them all Zylkene a couple days before due date!
Would they have been fine without all of the above? Who knows. What I do know is I had no issues what so ever with any of my four legged friends when our son arrived home and all the cats esp one of them reacted negatively the first time they heard the sound of a crying baby on the CD, yet it wasn't a problem when real baby arrived
.
Zylkene and Feliway worked brilliantly for one clients cats that didn't cope well when they brought their son home. That and creating some private space for the cats. Issues resolved within a week.
I bought the sounds soothing CD (Amazon) to get our 3 cats and our dog used to the sound of a crying baby, all instructions of how to use it are in there as well as a good guide book.
I've lent mine to a few expectant families (via work) and they've all found it useful.
Remember to not ignore your cat but start limiting access to rooms. Ours always used to be allowed in the bedroom but months before our boys arrival we started shutting them downstairs (not once baby was born) so they were used to this set up before baby arrived.
I also used plug in Feliways 2 weeks before due date and gave them all Zylkene a couple days before due date!
Would they have been fine without all of the above? Who knows. What I do know is I had no issues what so ever with any of my four legged friends when our son arrived home and all the cats esp one of them reacted negatively the first time they heard the sound of a crying baby on the CD, yet it wasn't a problem when real baby arrived
.Zylkene and Feliway worked brilliantly for one clients cats that didn't cope well when they brought their son home. That and creating some private space for the cats. Issues resolved within a week.
Forum | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff